I found myself wishing that I had someone with the knowledge of Farmerman where sitting next to me in order to explains some of the sights/features seen on the surface from thirty-thousand feet when flying over the “bad lands” of Arizona/Texas/NV on my recent trip to Las Vegas.
For example a group of four or five large craters in the middle of a flat nowhere.
No sign of humans for hundreds of fly over miles and then a small community will come into view with my not having a clue what possible economic justifications there could be for setting up such a community. No indications of mining for example in the area or anything else for that matter.
Non-plants life green color circles many acres across in the middle of the more “flat bad lands”.
So, the question is why are people living there? It could have been an old mine community that stayed. Perhaps there's a spring? Maybe the RR used to go through there..... oil fields.... People trying to avoid notice....? I dunno. Wish you knew the names of the towns you saw.
If it was a meteor crater, you'll probably recognize it from the Google Satellite image links below. These are the only visible craters in the states you flew over.
List of visible crater sites, in the United States.
Arizona Crater Site
Arizona Meteor Crater is the best preserved crater on Earth! Arizona Meteor Crater also known as (Barringer Meteorite Crater) is located about 35 miles east of Flagstaff, near Winslow, AZ. Meteor Crater was the first crater to be identified as an impact crater. Between 20,000 to 50,000 years ago, a small asteroid about 80 feet in diameter impacted the earth and formed the crater. The Meteor produced high enough temperatures and pressures to transform carbon minerals into diamonds and lonsdaleite. Meteor crater is about 4,000 ft in diameter, highest point on rim 5,723 feet and some 570 feet deep. Meteor Crater is today a popular Arizona tourist attraction.
Texas Crater Sites
Sierra Madera Crater is a meteor crater in southwestern Pecos County, Texas. The central peak of the Sierra Madera Crater structure rises 793 feet above the surrounding desert. It is 13 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 100 million years. Sierra Madera Crater is exposed to the surface.
Texas
Odessa Meteor Crater is a meteor crater near the city of Odessa, Texas. The Handbook of Texas Online describes the Odessa Meteor Crater as the largest of several smaller craters in the immediate area that were formed by the impact of thousands of octahedrites (an iron metallic type) that fell in prehistoric times. Over 1500 meteorites have been recovered from the surrounding area over the years, the largest of which weighed approximately 300 pounds. Odessa Meteor Crater is 550 feet in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 50,000 years. Odessa Meteor Crater is exposed to the surface, and was originally about 100 feet deep. Due to infilling by soil and debris, the crater is currently 15 feet deep at its lowest point. The site has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service, and a small information area and nature trail has been set up on-site for a self-guided tour.
There aren't any good aerial shots of the two in Texas but this map shows where they are located so you can see if it may be what you flew over. The Arizona crater is located in the NE section of the state, enroute to LV.
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